Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Treat yourself or someone you know to some unique images of Sacramento by taking advantage of my special deal on prints. From now till the end of December, my vast Sacramento photo gallery will lower its print prices by $5 (per print) from the regular price listed below till the end of 2010. All prints would be made on a Photo Quality Luster paper with the option of also mounting them on Matt Board for additional $10.00 (which I recommend). Other canvases are available, so feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Please look at my galleries here and here.

When choosing a print, please attach the photo or photos to an email describing the size of the prints and if there are any additional instructions. Once I have confirmed the order it will take about two weeks till the prints are ready. Please send orders to michael@zwahlenimages.com.﻿

Sunday, November 21, 2010

As reported by the Sacramento Business Journal; Developer Larry Kelley and his senior managers at McClellan Park have partnered with restaurateur Ali Mackani to push for an arena at the site of Westfield Downtown Plaza.

The Kelley team will lead the effort to develop a downtown sports and entertainment complex with the Mackani’s C.O.R.E. Group, Kelley announced Thursday.

Kelley brings a strong management team to the C.O.R.E. Group, which now has another chance to convince Sacramento city leaders that they should consider this arena proposal. Mackani’s proposal was one of seven proposals offered to the Sacramento First Task Force nearly a year ago. The city went with a partnership of Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor, which proposed developing a downtown arena as part of a three-way land swap with Cal Expo and Arco Arena. The city’s exclusive negotiations with the Kamilos/Taylor group has expired, opening up possibilities once again for other proposals.

In a news release, Kelley said that a weakness in the previous C.O.R.E. plan was a lack of an experience development team to make the project a reality.

The C.O.R.E. Group also added to its team the law firm of Weintraub Genshlea Chediak, led by real estate attorney Mike Kvarme and attorney Matt Massari.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson decided last month to reconvene his arena task force to consider old and any new arena proposals. Kamilos and Taylor and their Sacramento Convergence LLC group hope to bring back a viable plan to the City Council in January. That group’s proposal fell apart in September when Cal Expo decided it would not participate.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Want something fun and different to do this Saturday night? Have friends/relatives in town for Thanksgiving week? If you’re a fan of history, cocktails, or both, grab your group and join Downtown Sacramento Partnership tour guide and history buff Shawn Peter for the Sacramento speakeasy tour and pub crawl! The speakeasy tour takes you on a pub crawl through Old Sacramento and each location was a former speakeasy site during the prohibition. The tour begins at the River City Saloon and heads to several bars throughout Oldtown, including the Delta King, once a hotspot for prohibition drinking, jazz bands, gambling and fine dining. At each stop, you’ll have time to purchase prohibition-era cocktails and beer while you ponder and discuss Sactown’s rich history and dirty little secrets. The tour is only $10 per person, and the more, the merrier! The tour lasts about 2 hours and is a great way to kick off a fun night on the town with your friends.

Please call (916) 442-8575 or email dsp@downtownsac.org to make your reservation. Last minute walk ups are also welcome, but reservations are encouraged to hold your spot!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Iceland is currently requesting a special permit to establish an outdoor ice skating rink to operate within the building footprint of the Iceland ice skating rink that was destroyed by fire in March 2010. The outdoor ice rink is intends to operate for approximately two years before the former, fully enclosed, structure can be rebuilt. Their goal is to re-opening for the winter of 2010

The Iceland ice skating rink was built in 1940 and was in continuous operation until March of 2010 when the structure was badly damaged by an arson-set fire. Though there was extensive damage to Iceland, the exterior walls remained standing. The intent of the current request is to operate Iceland as a nonprofit, outdoor ice skating facility that would operate during the winter season. The applicant expects to operate as an outdoor skating facility for one or two years until the facility can be fully rebuilt. Currently, the Iceland building is in the application process for Landmark nomination.

Friday, November 05, 2010

D&S Development is proposing a 500 people music venue on the700 block and former site of the Men’s Wearhouse. This would be part of a mixed-use projects on the corridor long considered ground zero for the rebirth of downtown Sacramento.

According to the Sacramento Business Journal, “The multi-tiered concert space will sit on the corner of K and 7th streets, alongside local retailers and restaurants with a “Main Street” feel of second-story apartments inside K Street’s historic shops. That’s according to D&S Development, one of the partners negotiating with the city to remake the 700 block and enhance nightlife along the corridor.

The urban renewal can’t come soon enough for Sacramento, which will have invested more than $60 million in remaking two blocks of K Street if projects proposed there are built. While the city is looking to complete these deals, it also is examining the post-recession course for infill and redevelopment.

There has been $617 million invested in downtown over the past five years in 22 projects and all but five were to have been public-private partnerships. The K street projects on the 700 and 800 blocks also will be public-private partnerships that rely on subsidies.

After touring the buildings on the 700 block, D&S Development dropped the number of proposed apartments there from 136 to 125 and increased the retail space to about 60,000 square feet."